CLEVELAND, Feb. 8 – January proved to be a milestone month for ClevelandCavaliers.com as it marked an all-time high for traffic on the Web site since it was launched in 1997. The NBA.com League Monthly Traffic Report reported that the Web site logged more than 4.5 million page views in January 2005, which is a 77 per cent increase from January 2004—and attracted over a million visitors, a 38 per cent increase from a year ago. ClevelandCavaliers.com is currently ranked fifth in page views for NBA team Web sites.
The reason for this jump can be credited in part to interest in marquee star, LeBron James and the success of the team, but dig deeper and there are many reasons the site is attracting more and more visitors and why they keep coming back.
The statistics are evidence that fans are going to ClevelandCavaliers.com for firsthand information and insight on the players and team, exclusive content, on-line chats, message boards, special ticket offers and a myriad of contests and promotions. The January Web site report indicates that ClevelandCavaliers.com averages 4.24 page views per visit, which is second among all NBA sites.
Some notable ClevelandCavaliers.com statistics reveal geographical representation that indicates that the Cavaliers fan base is expanding nationally and internationally. During the month of January, ClevelandCavaliers.com received 172,642 page views from Canada, 102,000 page views from the Philippines, 59,000 in China, 57,000 in France, 57,000 in the United Kingdom and 42,000 page views from Brazil. Ohio logged in the strongest numbers with 1,047,000 page views, but fans in the states of California (248,000), Illinois (213,000) and Virginia (174,000) are visiting ClevelandCavaliers.com in impressive numbers.
Daily, the site posts the most current Cavaliers news, game previews and recaps, box score, Cavaliers calendar and original editorial. The “voice” of clevelandcavaliers.com is columnist Joe Gabriele, aka “The Insider.” Gabriele offers his perspective on game previews and recaps in addition to insightful and colorful features. Page views for Gabriele’s editorial content continues to attract, logging in over 100,000 page views for January, which averages 3,322 per day.
Another editorial feature that is raising eyebrows is written by a fellow who has given himself the pen name “The Optimist.” He defines himself as a “homer,” wears his love for the Cavaliers on his sleeve and definitely sees his team through rose-colored glasses. The fact that the guy is a little rough around the edges is his charm, and readers are catching on that The Optimist is “just one of them.”
The Cavaliers are one of the first teams in the NBA to launch its own online “television station.”
CavaliersTV on ClevelandCavaliers.com was introduced this season and features live and pre-
recorded features and interviews via streaming video. Regularly, visitors can log on to watch
original programming, live feeds of Cavaliers practices, live post-game interviews with Coach Silas, breaking news with coverage of Cavaliers press conferences, coverage of special events and much more.
Clevelandcavaliers.com is also a place for interactive banter, fan-to-fan and fan-to-player and coach. The popular Message Boards have tallied over 470,000 page views since their launch at the beginning of the season. To date, 2,564 members have joined the Cavaliers online community. In addition, ClevelandCavaliers.com has conducted seven on-line chats with players and coaches this season, receiving hundreds of questions from fans all over the world. Chats have been conducted with guard Eric Snow, forward Andersen Varejao, assistant coaches Brendan Malone, Kenny Natt and Stephen Silas, and Cavaliers legend’s Austin Carr and Campy Russell.
On-line contests and promotions offer unique chances to win exclusive opportunities and prizes. For example, the Cavaliers and corporate partner K. Hovnanian Homes are giving away a dream home in an online sweepstakes. Continental Airlines is sending a lucky fan on the road to Cavaliers away game. The Watch & Win promotion gives fans a chance to win a $100 Giant Eagle gift card following every WUAB 43 The Block game broadcast, with the chance to win a 37-inch Sharp Liquid Crystal Display television at the end of the season.
ClevelandCavaliers.com serves as the online encyclopedia for Cavaliers fans by featuring designated sections for archived news stories and features; a multimedia section that includes archives of Cavaliers play-by-play announcer Joe Tait’s game calls and video highlights; photo galleries from every game; an in-depth history section and more.
"Just like our success on the court, our website is also growing fast. Our focus is to make the site an engaging and dynamic place that fans can visit and find anything and everything related to the Cavaliers. It is the single best place for fans to stay connected with the team," said Cavaliers Vice President of Communications, Tad Carper.